Kindred Soul
by taleanaomi
Summary: It was going to take more then just rest to put Daniel back on his feet. Set after the Season 7 episode, "Lifeboat" and carries on towards the end of Season 7.
1. Chapter 1

Stargate SG-1: A Kindred Soul

Disclaimer: I do not own anything you recognize. I only own my original storyline, plot and any original characters.

o0o

It just wasn't the same without Daniel. That thought kept running through Jack O'Neill's mind throughout the entire day. It was the first survey mission they had done without Daniel since the four of them had become SG-1 -again- and his absence weighed heavily on all of them.

It had been only two weeks since Daniel had shared his mind with several other people and that was just the ones they had known about. There could have been dozens more. Frankly, it made him shudder when he thought about it. Seeing Daniel like that...

He was in front of Daniel's office before he even knew where he was going. He stopped, annoyed with himself because he knew that Daniel was in the infirmary. He'd been avoiding the office for that reason for the last two weeks.

Daniel's office was more of a mess then Jack had ever seen it. Piles of folders, papers, legal pads and other ancient looking devices and artifacts were scattered all over the room. The piles were so tall that Jack could just see over the tops and the rustle of paper told him that somewhere in all this mess someone was working.

"Daniel?" Jack called stepping carefully into the crowded office. He heard the sound of papers dropping and then a head popped up above a stack of papers on the floor, but it wasn't the person Jack was expecting.

The person had the same brown hair as Daniel, but this person was quite obviously female. Her hair was pulled back out of her face, but wisps of it had escaped from her braid, which she brushed back before speaking.

"Sorry. He's not here." Her voice was polite, but a little stressed. She shifted the arm full of papers she held. "Is there something I can do for you?"

"No. I was just looking for Daniel." Jack said slowly looking her over. She wore jeans, converse, and a long sleeve green shirt that brought out her dark eyes. Obviously, not apart of the military by her manner. "I guess Janet took him back to her lair?" He asked.

"If you mean the infirmary, he actually never left." The woman replied. "But I'll be sure to tell him you stopped by."

"No need." Jack said. "I'll just go and see him myself. And you would be?"

"Oh, sorry! Erica Carmichael." The woman said introducing herself. She reached a hand over the pile of books in front of her towards Jack.

Jack shook her hand. "You taking over for Daniel?" He asked sticking a hand into his pocket.

"More or less; less as it seems." Carmichael admitted, glancing around the crowded office. "General Hammond asked me to help out Daniel while he recovers."

"So once Daniel comes back you'll be leaving." Jack stated.

"Don't worry. I'm not taking anyone's place." She assured him. She walked over to the desk and set the papers down on the already crowded area. She turned back to Jack. "You must be Colonel O'Neill."

"Got it in one." Jack replied. "Was it my good looks that gave it away?"

"That and the fact that you're not a Jaffa and you're not blonde; that only left one possibility." Carmichael smiled. "Plus, Daniel told me you might stop by."

Jack raised an eyebrow. That was a new one. He tapped the desk. "So he's reading my mind now." He muttered. He motioned at the mess around them. "I'll let you get back to... whatever you're doing."

"Thanks." Carmichael replied, already turning back to the desk.

Jack shot one last look at the woman in Daniel's office before heading out the door. It was just... strange to see someone else in that office. And who the hell let her in anyways? He paused as another thought struck him.

"Daniel?" He spoke out loud, turning to look back at the doorway. Just how friendly was this Erica Carmichael with him anyways?

o0o

The beeping of the monitors was the first thing that Daniel Jackson heard when he slowly drifted back to consciousness. Suddenly uncomfortable, he shifted on the infirmary bed, knocking aside the book he had been reading when he had fallen asleep.

The events of the last week rushed back to him: the alien ship, the survivors, the people who had been sharing his brain. Suddenly having a headache, he reached for his glasses only to find that someone had moved them. Looking around as his hands felt the sheets, Daniel finally located them on the side table.

He reached for them as Doctor Janet Frasier entered the infirmary. The sound of the book dropping to the floor had alerted her that her patient was now awake. She rushed over as Daniel swung his legs to the side of the bed, trying to reach the table.

"Daniel, what are you doing?" She asked. Then, quickly realizing what he was reaching for, she passed him the glasses.

"Getting out of here." Daniel told her, slipping the glasses onto his face. "I've had enough of lying in bed and falling asleep in the middle of the afternoon." He looked up at her. "Janet, I'm fine."

Janet smiled slightly. "That's exactly what your EEG shows. I was just coming to tell you that I recommending to General Hammond that you be placed on light duties."

Daniel looked up at her hopefully. "I can go back to work?"

Janet nodded slowly. "Office work at least."

"That's fine." Daniel replied. "I have so much I need to catch up on anyways. The artifacts from P45, the Ancient tablet... I mean no one is even working on anything..."

Janet held up her hand. "I get the idea, Daniel. I just want you to take it easy, ok?"

"Ok." Daniel agreed quickly.

"Ok." Janet repeated with a smile. "Now, while you were resting you had a visitor. She said her name was Erica Carmichael?"

"Oh, yes. Her." Daniel replied distractedly as he gathered up his papers that were on the bed. "Uh, where are my clothes?" He asked, looking up.

"Daniel!"

Both Janet and Daniel looked up as Jack entered the room. "Why is there a woman working in your office?" He asked walking towards the bed.

"Oh, you mean Erica." Daniel replied. "I assume you two..."

"Erica?" Jack asked, giving Daniel a funny look at the mention of her first name. "Just how friendly are you two? She obviously doesn't belong to your "fan club." Jack made air quotes. "They all refer to you as Dr. Jackson, no exceptions."

Daniel started to answer but Jack interrupted him again. "Never mind. What is she doing in your office?"

"She's not taking my job, Jack." Daniel was quick to assure him. "General Hammond thought it would be best to have someone to take over cataloguing the artifacts that the other SG teams are bringing back while I'm in here."

"Cataloguing?" Jack asked. "She's a secretary?"

"Doctor of Modern Languages actually. Or dead languages too. It depends how you look at it." Daniel replied. "She's been working at Area 51 for almost three years now. Anything else you want to ask me or can I get my pants on so I can get out of here?"

Jack looked at Janet. "You're letting him go?"

Janet smiled. "Yes, Colonel. I'm putting Daniel on light duties for now, but I see no reason why he can't go back to work. Office work." She stressed. "I'm still not ready to send him off world yet." She turned to Daniel. "Your clothes are in the drawer." She told him with a smile before leaving the two men alone.

There was a moment of silence. Jack motioned. "Do you want me to hold anything or..."

"Nope." Daniel was quick to reply as he carefully got to his feet. "I'm fine. Thanks for..."

"Yeah, no problem." Jack hooked a thumb towards to door. "I gotta go deal with a thing. Glad you got a real assistant, that guy Marks..."

"Yeah, he's heading up the translation department they're working on putting together." Daniel said distractedly.

Jack made a face. "He's a real ass." He said before heading out of the Infirmary. "See you around!"

Now it was Daniel's turned to make a face. Jack tended to judge people right off the bat, usually with his gut and usually with good discernment, but he was also predjuced against scientists. Once dressed, the first place Daniel went was his office. He needed to be able to get back to work. To have some time to himself.

The debriefings had been long and tedious after he had recovered enough to speak coherently and he was ready for something that didn't involve talking to other people.

He stopped at the doorway to take in the sheer massiveness of the work. And it was a lot of work. He didn't think things would've gotten this bad. Maybe, he should have taken up that offer of help...

A dark haired head popped up from amongst the piles. Daniel smiled as he watched her slowly turn around, avoiding another pile to bring the one in her arms to the desk. It was funny to see her in his office; and not through a computer screen. She looked up and saw him standing at the door.

"Daniel!" She exclaimed. "Dr. Jackson." The stack of papers in her arms started to slide and she shifted around to keep it all balanced.

He didn't corrected her. Erica interchanged his personal and professional names as they navigated the colleagues through video chat situation. He walked further into his office. "Hi, Erica. How's it going?"

She motioned to the mess around her. "Well it's been two weeks and it's still looking like this. Honestly, Daniel, I don't know why you haven't had someone else working with you. You need a team of four at least to get through all this stuff the teams bring in."

"I enjoy it." Daniel defended. "Or I did enjoy it. Besides, I have you down at Area 51 to do the rest for me."

She wrinkled her nose. "Ha. Yes. But they only keep me around to read the languages. I don't get to do fun stuff like you do." She smiled. "It's good to see you up and around again."

"Yeah, thanks. So where have you started?" Daniel looked around at the piles and tried to find some kind of order. Erica leaned against the desk and surveyed the room.

"Honestly, I've just been trying to control overflow." She turned around and placed a hand on a pile of papers on the table. "This is the stuff I've been trying to work on in my spare time, but everyday I have four to five teams bringing in stuff. Then I've been dealing with that. I've have a list of things I've sent back to 51 for the team to work on."

Daniel nodded and picked up a paper in the pile she indicated. He felt her watching him closely as he studied the paper. "You're going to tell me to sit down?" he asked not looking up from the paper.

"Those are the doctor's orders." Erica said. "Uh, General Hammond was going to tell you this, but I wanted to tell you. I'm going to be assigned to your office for a little while longer Just until you get caught up with everything. You ok with that?"

"Yeah, yeah. That's good with me. As long as you don't have a problem with it." Daniel put the paper down and walked around his desk. "I mean if you have things to get back too..."

Erica shook her head. "No. I'm good." There was a slight hesitation but she continued. "I've rather liked having more to do here."

Daniel sat down in the chair and then had to admit that it felt good to be off his feet. "We better get started then. Catch me up."

"Alright." She tucked her hair behind her ears. "The translation team that they've been putting together has been a great help too, well most of them." She amended. "I've been able to send things down there and I think it'll make your workload less in the future too..."

Daniel relaxed as he listened to her talk. He was glad that someone had followed his recommendation to have some help down here.

o0o

"Here. We can start cataloging these." Daniel practically threw the crates off the push cart.

Erica looked up from where she was sitting on the floor translating with a book and paper pad. She jumped to her feet as Daniel off loaded another crate and dropped it practically on her feet. "Whoa. What wrong with you?" She asked.

"I assume the grapevine has made you aware of what happened with the mining operation? P3X-403?" Daniel asked, taking a deep breath.

"You mean Ritter?" Erica asked. She nodded sadly, but got interrupted.

"Not just Ritter!" Daniel exploded. "Chaka, Colonel Edwards, the whole damn thing!" He kicked the push cart and the crate would've been the next target if not for Erica's squeak of protest.

"Sorry, sorry!" Daniel apologized. He locked his hands behind his head and paced the room.

Erica grabbed her things off the floor and out of his way. "You want to talk about it? She asked after a minute.

"No. Yes!" Daniel sighed heavily. "No. I just want things to be different and I'm stuck fighting against the military which will never be different!"

Erica stayed silent.

"And I know. I know we had a good outcome but it could've been so much worse." Daniel leaned his head against the wall.

Erica still didn't say anything. He straightened and turned to-face her. Erica tightened her grasp of the papers she was holding. "Daniel..."

"We've worked together a long time and I've never lost it?" He finished for her with the barest of grins.

"True." Erica replied inclining her head. "Though you wouldn't be good at your job if you didn't "lose it" from time to time." She stepped forward. "You went from being an archeologist with a crackpot theory to actually interacting with those ancient races and cultures. You may be an archeologist in name but you're more of an alien contact specialist then anything else. Cut yourself some slack on some days."

Daniel smiled. "You know that Sam told me the same thing?"

"Of course she did!" Erica replied. "You guys are a good team."

Daniel chuckled. He looked at her. "You know we make a good team too."

Erica blushed. "Yeah well. Someone had to pick up your slack." She teased.

Daniel laughed gently. "And that's life at the SGC. You give yourself some slack and someone else has to pick it up. "

"Let's go get some coffee, ok?" Erica suggested. "We'll need it if we're good to be working late."

"Why don't you go ahead?" Daniel suggested. "I want to start getting an idea of what we're going to have here."

"Sure." Erica agreed. "One or two?"

"Two." Daniel told her. "And bring cream." Erica lifted a hand to let his know she heard as she walked out the door.

The commissary wasn't very busy this time of night but there were a few green uniformed SG teams sitting around the tables. A crew of dark haired men sat beside the coffee machine. One of them looked up at her and nodded. Erica didn't return his nod.

By his patch she knew that he had been there on the planet with the mining crew. She didn't know him, didn't know his role but a small part of her couldn't help but feel irritated. She picked up the cups and walked out of the commissary.

**Tag to Enemy Mine**

o0o

"Daniel!" Erica yelled in excitement as she rounded the corner into the commissary. She noticed belatedly that his usual table was empty. She skidded to a halt, grabbing the papers that were threatening to fall out of her arms. She spun around looking for Daniel.

"Where is he?" She muttered to herself.

"Late!" O'Neill cheerfully said from behind her. Erica turned to look at the colonel. He was carrying a piece of pie. "We're waiting for have breakfast with him. Why don't you join us?"

Erica followed O'Neill towards the back where Carter and Teal'c sat also with food in front of them. Erica's stomach growled. She realized that she'd been working all night and her body was finally rebelling.

"Erica! Come, sit." Carter said.

Teal'c inclined his head. "Dr. Carmichael. What of Daniel Jackson, O'Neill?"

"Oh, I'm sure he'll be along shortly." O'Neill said with a small smile. He side into his seat, motioning Erica to another empty one.

She sat, barely containing her excitement. But her nerves were slowly taking over. "He said he'd be here this morning." She tucked her hair behind her ears. "How long do you think..."

Carter smiled. "What do you have, Erica?"

Being asked to talk about work made her feel safer. She took a deep breath. "It's really cool. Or at least I think it's really cool, but I should wait. Or I'll be telling it twice. Oh, Teal'c, could you confirm something for me?"

She dug her paper pad out of her paper stack and plopped in front of him. His stoic look almost made her back off, but she pushed forward. "Just tell me I'm right because if I'm wrong, I'll never hear the end of it."

"Daniel? A know it all? Please." O'Neil said sarcastically. Carter grinned and ducked her head.

"This is not the first time I was asked to look at this text." Teal'c informed her. "A member of the translation team had already asked for help in translating this."

"Lazy!" Erica exclaimed. "Don't help me. I'm trying to get fluent. Just tell me if I'm right."

"You are correct, Dr. Carmichael." Teal'c told her. "This is an accurate translation."

"Yes!" Erica exclaimed.

"Indeed." Teal'c said. "It is in fact more accurate then the one shown to me by the translation team. In my opinion, Dr. Carmichael, you should be leading the team."

"Had a run in with Marks, didya now?" O'Neill asked before sticking a forkful of pie into his mouth.

"Indeed." Teal's replied darkly.

"What's the translation for?" Carter asked getting the conversation back on track.

"Part of a technical manual." Teal'c replied. "It may be of interest to you, Major Carter." He passed the paper over to her.

Daniel showed up at the table. "Sorry. I know I'm late." He said apologetically, sliding into the last empty seat. He dug into his bowl before realizing that Erica was sitting there. "You join the team and didn't tell me?" He asked with a raised eyebrow.

Erica glared at him. "Ha. No, I'm here because I finished the translation first and wanted you to know." Carter passed Daniel the paper, missing Erica's distressed look.

He took a look at it before handing it back to her. "I thought you had real work to do instead of playing speed translation games with the translation teams."

Erica blushed. "Uh, that's the wrong one." She told them, taking the paper from Daniel. She dug through the stack and found the pad of paper she was looking for. "Here." She handed it to Daniel. "You were right about the symbols. It's just more instructions for achieving Acension. But there is this short little verse that talks about the Lost City. I don't know if they're referring to the actual Lost City or if it's something in their mythology, but I think it bears more careful study. Was there anymore of this kind of script where you found it?"

"Nope." Daniel muttered, taking another bite of his breakfast. "That's the last of it."

Erica sat back in her chair with a sigh. "Well. That sucks. I thought we were on to something."

"How much more of the ancient texts do you have to work on?" Carter asked.

"Not enough." Daniel pointed out, sullenly. "I really thought we'd find something by now."

"Shoot!" Erica exclaimed suddenly. She gathered up her files. "I've got to go. I'm late."

"Late? Late for what?" Daniel asked. "I thought you were working here all morning."

"That was yesterday morning. We've worked all night on this and now this is this morning and I'm late." She took the notepad from Daniel's hand.

"For the..." Daniel was still at a loss.

"The thing, Daniel!" She told him impatiently.

"Oh the thing! Right! Sorry, I forgot. Have a good time." He told her.

"Thanks. See you later!" Erica rushed off.

"I've got to go too." Sam told them, scooting away from the table. "General Hammond wants me to take a look at the dialling computer. It's acting a bit wonky today."

"I as well." Teal'c said. "I will see you later for our training session, O'Neill."

"Yes. Training." Jack replied quietly. "The thing?" He asked as Daniel started to gather up his dishes.

"Uh, yeah. Her brother is doing something at the Airforce Academy today and she wanted to go. She could go is actually what I think she said." Daniel frowned.

"True." Jack said. There was silence for a minute as they thought about the confidential nature of their job. "So. Airforce brother." Jack commented. "Cool."

"Why?" Daniel asked, his tone starting to turn defensive. "You've been checking up on her?"

"Now Daniel. You know that you have the worst tendency to believe the best of everyone and it ends up getting you screwed." Jack told him. "I'm just looking out for you."

"She's fine. Erica's fine." Daniel assured him. "She's been checked out by the airforce multiple times. She's working at Area 51 for crying out loud. We've known each other for a few years now. What could there possibly be to check out?"

"Oh! I don't doubt her background check, nor her credentials." Jack reassured him. "I doubt her character, her goodwill towards you."

"She's my research assistant until General Hammond says otherwise." Daniel told him. "It's not as if we're getting married or anything."

"Yes. Don't do that." Jack ordered him. "Besides that thing, a whole host of things could go wrong." Jack told him. "We've seen it before. What if she's a Goa'uld trying to mess with your mind or something?"

"Then Teal'c would've sensed it and we wouldn't be here having this conversation." Daniel told him. "Jack..."

"Daniel.."

"Jack. There's nothing to be concerned about. I'm fine. She's fine. We're all fine. There's no hidden agenda here."

"I hope for your sake you're right about this." Jack told him. "Because I'd hate to have to shoot her or something."


	2. Chapter 2

o0o

Chapter 2

When the crisis with the DHD's transferring the virus happened, Erica didn't panic. She knew that it wasn't the first time something like this has happened. When working with alien technology, it had the reputation of backfiring a few times. But once they realized that all the teams were stuck off world and wouldn't be returning anytime soon, Erica abandoned her usual work for the day and went looking for some answers. It had been several hours since she'd heard anything new from the office grapevine and she decided to go straight for the source.

She poked her head into Felger'soffice, which was empty except for Chloe. "Got anything yet?" Erica asked quietly. She didn't knew the lab tech very well except for the times they'd crossed paths when a translation was needed. All the scientists were getting quite fluent at reading the aline script but there were a few times when an expert hand was needed.

Chloe shook her head sadly. "I'm sorry, Erica. I'm still waiting for thiscomputer simulation to finish. But I'm sure Jay will come up with something. Him orMajor Carter. They're really quite good at that thing, you know."

"I know." Erica sighed. "Major Carter is working real hard. I might hang around the command room, see if I can hear some good news."

"Good luck." Chloe told her with a sympathetic smile.

o0o

After trying to focus and failing, Erica took a break. This was one of the reasons why she'd been a little reluctant to take a post with the SGC, even for a short while. If she couldn't do anything to stop the crisis,she felt useless. At least at Area 51, there were puzzles to figure out and when a piece did malfunction or there was something they didn't understand, she knew how to solve it: with a translation. The problem here was that it wasn't an alien language making her life harder, it was life/death situation for the people stuck off world, Daniel included.

She was preparing stop and go home for the second night in a row since the DHD's had stopped working when a commotion started outside her door. She grabbed her bag and headed out the office door. "What's happening?" She asked.

Someone whooped. "They've got the DHD working again! Dr. Jackson's team is coming back now!"

Erica didn't respond. She quickly walked through the hallways, knowing that her route would take her past the locker-room. Shealmost slammed into Daniel and the rest of the relocation team as she rounded the corner. She had been going so fast, she hadn't been paying attention to where she'd been going.

"Oh, thank God! Erica exclaimed. She moved to hug Danielbut thought better of it. He was wet and they were just work colleagues.Then shereconsideredand gave him a hug anyways. He'd been through hell and she was glad to see him.

A few of the men chuckled as they went into the locker-room.

"Oh. Wow. First Sam and then you." Daniel said sounding surprised.

Erica released him, her street clothes nowthroughly damp. She blushed. "Sorry. It's been a long couple days around here. Not like the day that you've had, but we've all been worried." She stopped realizing she was babbling. "Uh, so. I'm glad you're back in one piece. I'm headed out."

"I can see that." Daniel replied. "I'm headed for a hot shower."

"You deserve one." Erica said. "I left a list of what I did the last couple dayson your desk. I'll see you Monday?"

"Yeah, sure. Great." Daniel replied half heartedly, already walking intothe men's locker room.

Erica hefted the strap of her work bag higher on her shoulder and sighed as she rolled her eyes. That hadn't been awkward at all, wonderful. She started towards the elevator again. At the end of the hall, she and Samantha Carter came around the corner at the same time.

"Nice job today." Erica said in passing expecting everyone was saying the same thing to the major.

"Thank you." Carter replied. She stopped her with the next question. "Dr. Carmichael, right?"

"Erica." She replied tucking her hands into her pockets. It was a nervous gesture she knew but that was one of the reasons she worked for Area 51, less in the spotlight the when standing before a member of SG-1. Daniel was different. She noticed that Carter was sporting the same damp pattern on her uniform as Erica was on her own pants and long sleeve shirt.

"Erica. Did you see Daniel?" Carter asked. "I have some questions for him."

"Shower." Erica replied. "He looked like he needed it."

"He did." Carter agreed with a smile. There was a pause for a moment."So. How do you like working here?" She asked.

Erica hesitated.

Sam read her hesitation wrong. "Or am I keeping you from something? I'm just going to wait for Daniel and if you don't have anything to do I'd love some conversation. Take my mind off of today a little. Besides I think the only time we've interacted was when you sent something you'd translated back from Area 51."

"Things do tend to move fast around here." Erica agreed. "Except for that... I like working here. The reason I hesitated was because they're going to transfer me back at the end of next week."

"Does Daniel know?" Carter asked.

Erica shook her head. "No. There has been a good time to tell him. Or put in a request to stay."

"Which Daniel has to sign." Carter finished. "You should. Stay. I mean. Daniel been freer since you came. It's made him able to take on some of the larger relocation projects."

"And got him stranded in the process." Erica said before she thought about what she just said. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to imply..."

"It's okay!" Carter assured her. "All I'm trying to say is that having someone else to take the brunt of the work has been good. I don't know why Daniel hasn't thought of it before. You should stay."

"Thanks." Erica said with a smile. "I'll think about it."

**Tag to "****Avenger 2.0"**

o0o

Erica climbed up the steps and into the briefing room. She was holding a pile of folders, mostly her work from the beginning of the day. Colonel Reynolds and the rest of SG-3 stood around the table, waiting for General Hammond.

"Ready?" Colonel Reynolds asked her.

She nodded. "Is Dr. Marks joining us?" She asked.

"I'm right here." Marks said coming up behind them. "I'm ready. Are you ready?" He asked

Ericaas he adjusted the folders under his arm.

"Yes. I'm ready." Erica assured him.

"Don't need more time to prepare?" Marks asked, checking that his tie was straight.

Erica slowly shook her head. "No. I'm good, thanks."

"Is something wrong?" Reynolds asked.

"No." Marks assured him with a smile. "It's just that Dr. Carmichael tends to take her relationships a little more seriously then her work."

"Excuse me?" Erica asked incredulously.

"What are you saying?" Reynolds' asked cautiously. "Dr Carmichael shouldn't be included in the briefing?"

"Oh she knows the language well enough." Marks was quick to respond. "But if you want someone to come with s negotiations with you then I'm a better choice then she is. I've worked in this since you guys brought it in. Dr Carmichael has only been there s short while in in that time she's done more work with Dr Jackson on the ancient language and therefore won't be able to dedicate enough time to compete this mission."

"Excuse me?" Erica said said not willing to believe what she was hearing come out of his mouth.

"I'll take it under advisement." Reynolds told Marks with a nod. All other conversation was stopped as General Hammond came into the room.

"Ten-hut." Reynolds ordered as the military members stood at attention.

Hammond nodded. "Let's begin." He ordered taking the seat at the head of the table. "Colonel Reynolds, what's the situation on the planet?"

"Sir." Reynolds and his team took their seats. "We've stalled in negations on the planet. Most of their documents from their old laws are written in some form of Goa'uld. I want to request that I take a language expert with us through the gate."

Hammond modded. "I assume we're here because you've got something for us, doctors?" It wasn't the first time that the two of them had attended a briefing with an SG team. While Daniel had been in the Infirmary, Erica had to take over some of his briefings without the hours to prepare that Daniel had before. She'd learned very quickly on not to have the General come unless she actually did have something important to share.

Both Erica and Marks nodded. Erica jumped in first. "Colonel Reynolds is right. It isGoa'uld but there are also some letters that I don't recognize. By going to the planet, we might be able to tell from their history where these letters came from and thenget a framework for understanding how totranslate theselettersso the colonel and his team can draw up the treaty for them."

"I can understand a few of them." Marks said. "Like this one." He showed Hammond on the paper. "And this one. These both mean mankind as far as I can tell."

Erica looked at him. "You're just guessing with those." She told him in a low tone. "We need more..."

"The context fits." He told her. "We don't have hours here like Area 51. Sometimes you have to go off what works the best. If I'mwrong, I'll be able to tell once I'm on the planet. Besides I've had more time then Dr. Carmichael to study these."

"He's right, sir." Reynolds said. "I thought that two heads were better then one. When Dr. Marks agreed for others in his department to look over his work, none of them gave up their projects to solely work on this. Dr. Marks did. I'd trust his translation."

Hammond nodded. "Dr. Carmichael you've only been here a couple months and might not be used to the way we do things around here. Besides your primary job until I say otherwise is to assist Dr. Jackson."

"I understand, sir." Erica responded. "Colonel Reynolds can take who ever he likes with him to the planet. I just think it's unwise to let Dr. Marks go off to test a theory with their language, especially with the language that belongs to some of the founding documents of their nations. I think we need a little more time."

"I've had enough time." Marks told her. "You've been off playing whack-a-mole with your ancient translations while Dr Jackson tries to find the LostCity. Frankly, I'm not surprised you haven't made any progress if you keep exercising this kind of caution."

"Thomas, that is unfair and unprofessional." Erica replied heatedly, no longer able to stay silent. "And I've..."

Hammond cut her off. "Doctors. I've had just about enough of your attitudes. We don't have time for this personality conflict. You two willwork together. Or one of you will be leaving this mountain and it won't be through the Stargate. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes, sir." They both said at the same time. Erica shot Marks a frown. He ignored her and continued with the briefing.

Erica wasn't one to backdown from a fight but at this table, it was better to keep her mouth shut. She resisted the urge to glare at the other language expert. He may be the head of the language team and she may have to work with him at times, but that didn't mean that she had to like it. Besides, if Area 51 had their way, she'd be back there by the end of the week.

o0o

"Apparently,I have an attitude problem." Erica announced as she walked into Daniel's office. She leaned on his desk, frowning as she tried to read his book upside down.

"I could've told you that." Daniel replied, not looking up from his book. "The briefing with Reynolds go well?"

"You could say that if you were Marks. You could say that if you were General Hammond." Erica replied. "But you would not say that if you were me. Colleague was shown up and the scientists were firmly chastised and then threatened with removal."

"Threatened?" This time Daniel did look up. "They shouldn't be able to threaten your job. Not after I put in the request for you to be prementlyattached to my department. You must have said something that... what? Why are you looking at me like that?" He asked in concern.

"You signed it? You want me to stay?" Erica asked in disbelief.

"Yeah." Daniel looked confused. "Didn't I tell you?"

"No!" Erica yelped.

"Oh. Well. I found the paper on your desk and assumed you forgot to give it to me, so I signed it. But you should know that I'm giving you more work and since you're mostly fluent in Goa'uld, you can learn Ancient faster now, if you think you're up for it. Or if you want to go back to Area 51..."

"Back?" Erica gasped. "Why would I want to go back? Daniel, this is amazing! Thank you."

"Don't thank me yet." Daniel warned her. "You're going to be doingmost of the work."

"I don't care!" Erica replied with a grin. "I can learn a lot more about the Ancients here then from the leftovers you send me at 51."

Daniel went back to his book. "You'll also have to work with Marks." He told her after a minute.

She swore in French and then Russian.

"Language." Daniel admonished mildly, not looking up as he flipped another page in his book.

He was not at all surprised at her reaction. Erica and Doctor Thomas Marks had not gotten along since day one. He was surprised they were able to hide it from him for the first few weeks after he gotten out of the infirmary. It wasn't until he realized that they'd ordered their days to avoid one another and that they didn't drop off or pick up any translations from each other, just left them on the desk, that he'd known there was an issue.

Marks had been at the SGC longer and he'd had less notoriety then Erica had during her short tenure there, but the difference was clear. Erica was personable, Marks was not. Even though he was the head of the translation department.

"Daniel. Please. Don't make me beg." Erica said.

"You can beg all you want." Hedidn't looked up. "I need you to work and that is working."

"You used to be a little more understanding." Erica told him. "Where'd that curious young man go? Hell with the rules!"

"That 'curious young man' went off-world too many times. Oh, and ascended once." Daniel replied. He looked up and frowned. "The whole Ancient thing might have something to do with my change in personality. Though I did tend to ignore the rules when I was ascended. I think."

"We've been doing just fine with our system the way it is." Erica said after a quiet moment. "Besides he's an..."

Daniel quickly cleared his throat as Jack walked in the door.

"Ass." Erica finished as she turned around to face the door. "Colonel."

"Whose an ass?" Jack asked. "Surely, Daniel hasn't driven you away already."

"He can act like an ass. He's not an ass currently. That... is an ass." She finished lamely.

"If you want to stay, you'll work with him." Daniel told her. "Ass or no ass. We all pull our weight around here."

"I got it." Erica said without malice as she gathered the papers Daniel had left in a pile for her. "I'll be in my office if you need me, Daniel. Colonel." She nodded to Jack as she left.

"Who's an ass?" Jack asked again.

"Don't ask." Daniel replied bending over his book again.

"If we're talking about Marks again, then that guy just gave a briefing and he was..." Jack didn't even finish his sentence, but the meaning was clear.

Daniel groaned loudly and laid his head on top of the open book. "Not you too."

"Hey. I just call 'em like I see 'em." Jack told him. He looked at Daniel lying on his book. "You trying to absorb that with your mind or are you ready to get lunch now?"

o0o

A few days later, Erica was working on a few things for Daniel when he popped into her office.

"Here." Daniel laid a journal and some papers on her desk. "Can you write these notes up for me? It's my grandfather's journal. Selmak translated it for me, but I just need it written up. Thank you!"

"Whoa. Where are you going?" Erica asked. "You trust me with this?"

"Honduras." Daniel answered. At her blank look, he continued. "I found something that the Ancients could've left on Earth. We're going to find the fountain of youth." He smiled at her. "Wanna come?"

She glared at him. "Now you're just being mean. You know you're not going to take me, needed here and blah blah."

"Good point." Daniel said. "I do need you to finish those translations. Besides they don't need two linguists. Dr. Lee is going to do technology things for me. Oh. I gotta go. And yes, I do trust you with that." He turned and practically skipped out of her office.

"Have a good trip." Erica called after him. She shook her head and picked up the journal. The leather was well worn and felt comfortable in her hands. It was good to see Daniel back to his old self. He'd been moping around with no new leads for several weeks now.

Hopefully this would be what he wanted it to be, what they needed it to be.

**Tag to Evolutions (part 1)**


	3. Chapter 3

o0o

Chapter 3

Erica turned towards the doorway as she sensed someone standing there. It was Major Carter, late to her own party. Erica waved and the major came over. Erica handed her a drink. "How's your head?" She asked.

"Better, thanks." Carter replied. "I've had a few days to recover." She looked around the room. "Party looks great."

"Ah, that would be Daniel and Teal'c". Erica replied. "From what I hear Daniel just gave advice and it was really Teal'c who put it together."

"I'd be half likely to believe that if I didn't have a taste of this punch." Carter told her. "Neither of those two can make mixed drinks. I assume you did this?"

Erica blushed. "Guilty. Daniel pulled me in after the first attempt." She made a face.

Carter laughed. "Yeah. That looks about right. It's good!"

"Thank you." Erica replied. "I heard that you liked mango. I believe the colonel is trying to get your attention."

"Ah." Carter said. "He probably wants me to try the cake. Apparently that was his idea."

Erica held up her hands. "It's true. Consume at your own risk, major."

"Call me Sam." Carter told her. "I'm glad you're sticking around. Someone needs to teach Daniel how to make punch." She called over the noise as she started across the room.

o0o

After being dismissed by Jack, Daniel wandered around the room talking to a few of his colleagues. He noticed Erica and Teal'c standing towards the door. They were talking about something serious by the look on their faces. Daniel joined them and then he realized that Erica didn't look too well.

"You ok? You look a little pale." Daniel said in concern.

"Dr. Carmichael is experiencing some respiratory distress." Teal'c responded. "We are attempting to slow her breathing down."

Erica shook her head. "It's not working." She managed to gasp. "Daniel... I need..."

"Janet." Daniel responded quietly, anticipating her need. "We've got to get her to the infirmary." He told Teal'c before turning to Erica. "Can you walk?" He asked.

She nodded but one look at her told him she wouldn't get far like that.

"Teal'c, can you..." He motioned and trailed off as Teal'c picked Erica up. They exited the party room and went down the hall. They made it to the Infirmary but by this time, Erica was wheezing and her lips were tinted blue.

"What do we have?" Janet asked. She was dressed in her street clothes and Daniel realized that they'd caught her on her way out the door.

"She can't breathe." Teal'c told them.

"Ok. Let's get her on the bed." Janet directed Teal'c towards one of the casualty beds and he laid Erica down and stepped back to let the nurses work.

"Nurse, pull up her chart. Does she have any allergies?" Janet asked both the men in front of her, but also the nurse on the computer. One of the nurses attached the heart monitor to Erica's chest. It immediately spiked.

Teal'c looked at Daniel.

"I don't know." Daniel responded. "It's not something we've really conversed about."

"Ok. Let's give her the standard antihistamine." Janet ordered. "It looks like an allergic reaction and this should stop it." The nurse handed Janet an epipen which she administered quickly by injecting it into Erica's thigh. The monitors beeping slowed slightly. "That seems to have stopped it." Janet said.

She leaned over the side of the bed as one of the nurses fitted Erica with an oxygen mask. "Erica? How are you feeling? Just nod if that's working."

Both Daniel and Teal'c watched in relief as Erica took a deep breath and then nodded.

"Good." Janet said. "We're going to give you something a little stronger to help. Like an amped up allergy pill. You're going to be ok."

o0o

The steady beep beep on the heart monitors was the first thing that Erica heard as she drifted back to full awareness. She looked up to see Janet standing beside her bed, filling out a chart. "How long..." Erica trailed off, realizing her throat was sore.

"Not too long. The medicine I gave you caused a bit of a reaction." Janet told her. "You nodded off not too long after you started breathing again. How are you feeling?"

"Better." Erica responded. "I can breathe again."

"That's good." Janet said. "That means the medication is working. You had a rather severe reaction to the fruit punch you drank. You've never had this reaction before, so I'd suggest being pretty cautious around other fruits like this. I've noticed here that you have a latex allergy and I'm thinking it was the mango that did you in."

"I knew it tasted funny." Erica said with a small smile. "But so good."

"I can imagine so." Janet replied. "I usually can't resist a good mango myself. But in this case, you need to stay away from mango from now on. Understood?"

Erica nodded. "Yes ma'am." She looked at Daniel and Teal'c hovering behind Janet. "So. I drank the wrong punch?" She asked.

"Indeed." Teal'c responded. "It seems that in our haste to set up the party for Major Carter, we accidentally mixed the signs up. I apologize."

"This might be a good time to tell you about Earth human allergies, Teal'c." Janet told him gently.

"On Chulak there is no such thing." Teal'c told them. "The larva that we carry would keep us from experiencing these effects."

"Probably only one of the benefits." Erica muttered with a shudder.

Teal'c raised an eyebrow.

"Are you sure she's gong to be alright?" Daniel asked.

Janet nodded. "Yes. We were able to give her the antihistamine in time. She'll be alright with a goodnights sleep. No off world travel for a few days." Janet told Erica firmly. "You shouldn't even be driving a car let alone going to another planet with the drugs that you're taking."

"Don't worry." Erica told Janet. "I'm grounded anyways, general's orders."

"Get some rest." Janet told her, touching her shoulder. "I'll be back to check on you in the morning." She smiled and then left.

Teal'c and Daniel looked at Erica.

"You can go too." She told them. "I'm not going anywhere." She yawned.

"Does this drug usually sleepiness?" Teal'c asked, curiously.

"Usually." Daniel replied squinting at her. "But it depends which kind you take."

"In my case, they all cause sleepiness." Erica replied sounding a little grouchy. "Which is why I stay away from all things that cause allergies. Seriously, though. Daniel. Teal'c. Thank you."

"I was glad to render assistance." Teal'c told her.

"Me too." Daniel replied. "Though I think that sleep sounds good too. However, I do have that translation of the..." He trailed off as the two of them looked at him. "Right. Home. Bed. Going." He responded before leaving the room.

"I shall stay." Teal'c said moving towards the chair in the corner of the room.

"You don't have to do that." Erica told him. "Seriously. I'm ok."

"It was my mistake that caused you to be put in this position." Teal'c told her. "It is not the first time." He muttered quietly.

"It's not your fault." Erica told him. "It's really mine. I should've known better."

"Dr. Fraser. said that this is the first time your symptoms have been this severe."

"Yes, but it might have happened somewhere where I didn't have friends with me." Erica told him.

"That is not material to this conversation." Teal'c said. "If it had not been for.."

"I get it." Erica told him. She yawned again. "But you don't have to stay."

Teal'c thought for a moment. "If you insist." He said.

"I do." Erica told him. He moved to leave but stopped when she spoke again. "Teal'c, are you familiar with forgiveness?"

"I am." He told her. "It is a universal concept if I'm not mistaken."

"I was more thinking of the human kind where we forgive and forget." She told him. "Because I forgive you and we don't have to mention it again."

Teal'c thought about that for a moment before inclining his head in acceptance. "Thank you, Dr. Carmichael."

"Erica please." She told him sounding half sleep already.

"Indeed. Erica." He muttered softly before leaving the room.

**Tag to Grace**

o0o

"Needed a break from the negations?" Erica asked as Daniel walked into her office.

She had recovered nicely from her allergy scare and had been back in the office a few days later. Daniel knew that she now kept an Epipen in her desk drawer and in her purse. He'd hoped she'd never have to use them again.

"You could say I needed a break." Daniel replied. He dropped into her couch with a sigh. "Jack and Teal'c abandoned me so I came down here."

Erica chuckled as she saved the document she was working on and leaned back from the computer. "I'm surprised it took this long." She waved a hand. "I've read the Kelownian mission reports, including those from Colonel O'Neil."

Daniel groaned and covered his face. "Great. Just another person to tell me what I already know. It doesn't change the fact that I have to work with these people to save lives! That's what at stake here, real human lives. What I can understand is the annoyance with all the arguing, what I can't understand is why everyone is so quick to judge and give up!"

"What can I do?" Erica asked. He looked at her. "Seriously, how can I help?" She asked.

"You could turn back time and then magically end all the Goa'uld everywhere in the galaxy before they became an issue." Daniel said sarcastically with a wave of his hand.

She looked at him. "Coffee?" She asked.

Daniel sighed as he got up from the couch. "Yes, please. Let's just hope in the next hour I can convince them to at least send a delegation to Madronas."

**Tag to Fall-****O****ut.**

o0o

After leaving Sam at the elevator and grabbing a cup of coffee from his office, Daniel yawned again as he leaned against the doorway of Erica's office next door.

"Don't spill your coffee." She snapped at him, not looking up from her notes.

"Sorry." Daniel apologized as he finished his yawn and yanked his mug upright. That was a close one. "What's got you so snippy?" He asked, looking up at her.

"Notes. notes. notes." Erica replied distractedly. "You've got everything backwards for a few days now. And. I. Am. Trying. To straighten it out."

Daniel came to peer over her shoulder. "You got that one wrong." He pointed to the computer screen.

"Gah!" Erica made a sound of annoyance and put her head in her hands.

"Oh. No." Daniel said as he squinted and looked sideways at the computer screen. "On second thought that was my mistake. Sorry about that."

"Are you trying to torture me?" Erica asked from under her hands.

"Not on purpose. No." Daniel stopped another yawn. "Gosh. Sorry."

Erica took her hands away from her face. "Not sleeping?" She asked him, sounding resigned she'd have to engage him in conversation.

Daniel shook his head as he looked at the computer. "Weird dreams." He replied, squinting to look at his notes that were now digital.

Erica turned back to her work. "Maybe you should talk to someone." She suggested.

Daniel wandered away from the computer. "Funny." He replied without any humour. "You know Sam said the same thing."

"You should listen to her." Erica replied, tapping on the keyboard.

"What does that mean?" Daniel asked, looking up from the object he had been playing with.

Erica sighed and turned away from the computer. "It means, Daniel, that you carry a lot around. Your whole team does and maybe it would do you some good to find someone other then your friends to talk too about things like this. And by someone else I mean a professional listener. I'm pretty sure that's what Sam has in mind."

"I won't." Daniel replied, dropping the object. It looked like a wooden owl. "I hate psychologists."

"The concept or did you have a bad experience?" Erica asked.

Daniel gave her a funny look. "We're not talking about this."

"Ok. Fine." Erica held up her hands in defeat and tuned back to the computer. "Just drink some wine before going to bed so you can sleep and the notes will go back to being semi legible." She told him pretending to squint at his notes in front of her.

"Haha." Daniel faked laughed without any humour as he left her office.

**Tag to Chimera**

o0o

Erica walked into Daniel's office only to be ambushed by a stack of papers that he handed to her. "Here. Take these please." He told her. "I've got to go."

"What's going on?" Erica asked, shifting her grasp before the paper slide off the pile. "Everyone's been in a tizzy since the Alpha Site was evacuated."

"Uh. Sam's missing." Daniel told her. He rubbed at the back of his head. "I need you to take over for me. Everything. All of it."

"Ok. For how long?" Erica asked taking the papers from his other hand.

"I don't know. As long as it takes." Daniel replied. "Erica. I need to be out there. It'll put my mind at rest to know that you've got this."

"I can do it." Erica assured him. "Go. Help them search, we'll be fine down here."

"Thanks." Daniel replied with relief. "I've got to go." He picked up the pack on the table and left the office.

**Tag to ****Death Knell**

o0o

Erica looked up as Daniel followed by the camera crew barrelled into the office. She had just come into grab some files. She'd hoped to stay out of the way. She had no desire to be apart of the documentary at all. She was horribly camera shy and everyone knew it. She shrank back against the wall, away from the camera.

"What is it?" The director asked.

Daniel spoke quickly and after slowing it down for the camera, the director spoke again. "And what, what is the significance of that?"

Daniel looked up from the fax. "Uh, it's fascinating." He replied.

It was fascinating about the fragments, but Erica could tell that it wasn't the response that the other man was looking for. He looked at the fax and then directed the camera crew. "Okay, back up, back up." He turned back towards Daniel. "That's it? It's fascinating? Why were you running?"

"Oh... I-I just wanted to see if you'd chase me." Daniel replied. He looked at the camera innocently.

Erica couldn't help it. She covered her mouth to stop a giggle. She did not want to be caught on camera, but this was just hilarious.

"Turn it off, turn it off." The director ordered.

Daniel tuned away from the camera to finish reading the rest of the fax. He looked up at Erica, noticing for her for the first time. He also noticed she was close to breaking. He made a shushing gesture. But it was too late. Her giggle escaped and she shook with laughter. It was such a classic Daniel move that they were so totally unprepared for.

The camera crew and director turned towards her. "Yeah. Laugh. Trick the camera crew. Ha. Ha. Very funny." The director told the two doctors sarcastically. He turned back to the camera crew. "You'd better not be rolling." He told the airmen.

They shook their heads.

Erica stopped laughing. "I'm sorry." She apologized.

"Who is this?" The director asked Daniel. "I thought I knew everyone on the teams. I haven't seen her before. Hello. My name is Emmett."

Erica didn't want to shake his hand but did anyways. "Hello." She replied, not wanting to be so rude.

"Oh she's, ah... my assistant." Daniel replied feeling a little flustered as he understated her role. "She's assisting me."

She shot him a look.

What? He mouthed silently.

"Assistant?" The director asked drawing their attention back to him. "That could be interesting. Guys, turn the camera back on."

"No, no." Erica and Daniel protested at the same time.

"I would only tell you what he just told you." Erica said. "I don't have anything interesting for you."

"Anything interesting?" Emmett said incredulously. "You're the assistant of Daniel Jackson. I'm pretty sure anything you're working on would be equally as fascinating, if not more so. You, you could give us some depth on Dr. Jackson. A background piece."

"A background piece?" Erica shot back incredulously. Her anger overriding her concern about being on camera. "Never mind the fact that I speak five different languages and read a few more, or have a doctorate in modern languages. Since I'm "assisting" Dr Jackson all I can do is talk about his accomplishments?" She shook her head. "I have more work to do. General Hammond's orders." She ducked out the door before any of the men could say anything.

"Uh, you shouldn't have said that." She heard Daniel say behind her.

"That's not what I meant obviously." Emmett replied. "And how come everyone gets to duck me by quoting that?" He changed the subject. "General Hammond's orders."

"Uh, I don't know." Daniel replied. "Probably because some people actually have work to do around here?" She didn't hear anymore as she went into her office and closed the door.

o0o

She didn't come out until a few hours later when she went back into Daniel's office to hand back the files she'd borrowed. "How are the interviews going?" Erica asked, setting the files back down on the table where she'd gotten them from.

"Good. I think. Where's the... the..." Daniel asked as he turned this way and that looking for something.

"This?" Erica asked handing the item to him.

"Yes. Thanks." Daniel said taking it from her. "You know, I'm sorry for what I said earlier."

"I know." Erica told him.

"I was just trying to get you out of there." Daniel told her. "I know how much you hate being on camera."

"I know." Erica repeated. "You were trying to make me sound less interesting."

"Do you really feel like that?" Daniel asked.

"Like what?" Erica asked. "Like I'm working in your shadow?" She shook her head. "No."

He didn't look like he believed her. She sighed. "Daniel, this is a great opportunity to work here and to learn another language that I, we, never wouldn't known existed if it hadn't been for you. Everyone who works here could say that they feel like they're working in your shadow. But they wouldn't say that because it's just really cool be working here."

"Thanks." Daniel replied. "You know I didn't know that you felt like that."

"Don't let it go to you head." She warned him. She nodded to the table. "Repacking? She asked.

"Oh. Yeah. We're not scheduled to go off world for a few days. I was thinking about getting those site survey results from SG-13 and going over them. They're doing an aerial survey for me. You in?"

"Sure." Erica said. "But later. I've just got a few reports to finish up."

"Yeah, it'll be later." Daniel told her. "I've got to meet Sam for a translation thing. The probe that crashed. She's going to need me to translate the code." Daniel zipped up his bag.

Erica hesitated. "Are we going to talk about what you're going to do when Area 51 needs me back?"

"No." Daniel replied. "Why? Do we need to?"

"Not really." Erica replied. "It's just that with Marks heading up the team you don't really need me here anymore."

"Yeah. Well Marks doesn't read Ancient as well as you do." Daniel replied with a smile. "Erica. I need you here. We've got to find the lost city. It's so close I know it!"

"We'll find it." Erica assured him. "Hopefully what SG-13 brings back will contain some new information."

"I know." Daniel said. He lifted the pack and set it on the floor. "By the way I'm officially pulling you off translating anything except the Ancient stuff."

"I've already been doing that for the last few months." She told him.

"I know." Daniel said. "But you've been distracted by other things, other people needing your attention. I need this to be your full time focus. Your grasp of the language could almost be as good as mine. See if you can pull some stuff from Area 51? Anything to do with the Ancients."

"I'll do that." Erica agreed. "I already have something in mind." She pushed away from the desk. "I have to make a few calls." She said before leaving the office.

o0o

A few hours later, she walked back into Daniel's office. It was empty and she sat down to wait. He would be back any minute, she knew that. He was probably grabbing some coffee or on a bathroom break.

Daniel breezed into the office, moving quickly.

Erica stood up from his chair. "Daniel.. I...!"

"It'll have to wait." Daniel told her as he grabbed his backpack. "I've got to go off world. SG- 3 and 13 are in trouble and I think I got them into it."

"What?" Erica asked but there wasn't any time as Daniel left again just as quickly as he had come. Erica sat back down in his chair. It could wait until he came back.

o0o

She couldn't believe that the documentary crew was allowed to stay on after what happened off-world. Everyone was reeling in shock. Erica had been surprised to get the internal email from Daniel containing some of the translations he'd been able to do from the survey. She decided to try and talk with him.

"Hey." Erica rapped on the wall. "You okay?"

Daniel ignored her question and held out some photos towards her. "Here. This is the other half of the writings. I'll work on the other half."

"Ok. I've already got the last set from your email." Erica replied. "Should I cross reference those with the last set?"

Daniel nodded.

Erica hesitated. "Daniel..."

"I don't want to talk about it." He told her. "I just want to work on this. Alone. Send me an email with the finished translations."

"But, Janet..." Her voice choked off.

"Is dead. She got shot right in front of me." Daniel told her bluntly. "Right in front. I don't want to talk. I just want to be left alone."

Erica didn't say anything, unshed tears sparkling in her eyes. She placed a file down on his desk and left silently.

Erica heard Emmet go into Daniel's office. She heard the whole conversation from her office. Daniel had shut himself off from everyone around him even her. She wasn't surprised at how the conversation ended, but after the silence fell, she became restless.

She needed to leave. She decided to head down to the commissary for some coffee. It wasn't unusual for her to be down there at that time of day and she noticed the usual people on coffee break were in the room. She went straight for the coffee machine and poured a cup. She was putting cream and sugar into it when Marks came up beside her.

Later she wouldn't have been able to tell anyone what he said to her. All she remembered was what happened next. No one saw it coming.

Marks leaned closer to her and Erica stepped back. All the anger and irritation that usually resides inside her chest made its way to her fist. From there, her training session with her brother and kickboxing training took over. She settled back on her right foot, cocked her arm and aimed.

Marks head snapped back, and he stumbled backwards, tripping over the chair and falling on his side. A hush fell over the room. Marks' nose was bleeding, already swelling.

Her knuckles were bruised. She could feel them aching already. She felt numb and knew that she should care about what had just happened but couldn't bring herself to do so. There was a huge tear in her heart and he'd just walked right through it.

"How dare you!" Erica cried. "She's dead and all you care about is reassignments and... and..."

Something dropped down her face and she realized that she was crying. Someone helped Marks to his feet and were saying something about heading towards the infirmary.

Suddenly the real world rushed back and Erica realized what had just happened. She managed to get out an apology before turning and leaving the commissary. She wondered the base until she ended up at the infirmary. Her hand turning purple and blue. The nurse that treated her was gentle but she let herself cry anyways. It was there that the airmen found her half an hour later. General Hammond wanted to see her.

o0o

Erica waited patiently until the airmen escorted her into general's office. Her hand was wrapped in a bandage. "Have a seat." General Hammond told her not unkindly, pointing to the chair in front of his desk. "I assume you know why you're here?"

Erica took a deep breath. "Yes, sir. I do."

"This isn't the first time that you and Dr. Marks have had a conflict. I have to tell you that the United States Air Force does not look kindly on brawling. Dr. Marks has also personally told me that he won't work you with anymore, especially after this incident."

Erica nodded. "I assumed as much, sir."

"Area 51 had requested that you transfer back." Hammond told her gently. 'We'd been denying that request considering the kind of work that you were helping Dr. Jackson with."

Erica took another deep breath.

"But given the circumstances of what happened, I'd be inclined to finally grant that request. You can work with Dr. Jackson from Area 51. He'll send any ancient artifacts we get back there to be studied and cataloged."

Erica sighed. "Thank you, sir. I know full well that you could've dismissed me. Thank you for giving me another chance."

"You're welcome." Hammond told her. He stood and she followed. "I'll have to take your security badge and then this airmen will take you down to your office and then escort you off the base." He held his hand.

Erica took it.

"Good luck, Doctor." Hammond told her. "And just between you and me, he had it coming."

Erica blushed. "Yes, sir. Thank you, sir." She followed the airmen out of the general's office.

**Tag to Heroes (part 1 & 2) **


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

"Did you double check that translation of the Goa'uld text?"

Erica looked up as the voice of one of her colleagues at Area 51 startled her out of the work in front of her. "Not yet." She responded, hasty closing the ancient document she had been studying. "I'll get it back to you in 15 minutes?"

Dr. Dobson smiled at her and tapped the tabletop. "Sounds good."

She smiled in thanks as he left her workbench. They had dispensed with the offices except for the director and opted to use open workbenches in the room with was filled with their projects. Her computer beeped and Erica looked over to see and incoming video call. It was Daniel.

She hesitated and then accepted.

"Did you get it?" Daniel asked. It wasn't an unusual greeting from him but wondering that it had been over two months since they'd talked, it was unusual.

"I did." She replied. "Hello to you too."

"Hi." Daniel replied. They looked at each other in silence for a minute. "I'm sorry, do you not want to work on this project with me anymore?" He asked.

"I don't know. You still want me to work with you?" Erica asked. "I don't want to sound petty or like a girl whose got her hopes dashed, but the last time we talked you were quite rude about just wanting to work by yourself."

"So now that I need you, you're blowing me off?" Daniel asked, sounding confused. "I though this was one of the coolest projects ever."

Erica sighed. "Daniel. I love working with you and I love working with the SGC but General Hammond made it very clear. My transfer is permeant. I won't be coming back to the SGC anytime soon. I'm sorry."

"I could refuse you know." Daniel told her after a moment. "I'll tell that I can't do it without you or something."

Erica rolled her eyes. "Don't pretend to sacrifice for me, Daniel. It isn't funny or cute. Besides, it won't work. You need to find the lost city and if you have to send your work to another Area 51 team then that's what your going to do, ok?"

"Well it'll probably be you considering no else has the experience reading ancient but I appreciate your self sacrifice." Daniel said. He sighed. "I didn't do something did I?"

Erica laughed. "Other then be you?" She shook her head.

"You're really not coming back are you?" He asked.

Erica shook her head again. "Nope. Sorry."

"Why you do it? Daniel asked her. "Why'd you punch Marks?"

"I was angry." She replied. She shrugged. "Everyone was. I shouldn't have gone down there. I should've stayed away from people."

She shuffled the papers beside her and then look back at the screen. "Now. Do you want to get to work or did you want to discuss our personal lives some more?"

"Ah, yes right." Daniel said switching gears with her. "Well I had wondered about paragraph three and if you'd found any other symbols that correspond to..."

Erica smiled as she listened to him talk. It was good to be back to normal. Or at least whatever counted as normal when it concerned the Stargate Program.


	5. Chapter 5 - End

Tag to Season 8's Endgame Episode

"Excuse me?" Erica asked in disbelief. The airforce general in front of her sighed. He looked tired it was probably the hundredth time he'd recited what he was telling her.

"Dr. Dobson is no longer employed at this facility. Since the circumstances of his dismissal involved national security and possibly treason, your background information will be run and the interview process will be conducted again."

"Again?" Erica asked incredulously. The interview process wasn't kind. They combed through all financial statements, talked to people who'd known you for 10 years or more and kept an eye on your movements. Every trip, document, and receipt down to the last penny was scrutinized.

"I understand sir." She said in resnigation. "Is there anything they need from me?"

"Your keys." The general said. "But those are in your locker which we will access."

Erica felt a brief surge of annoyance as the thought of her personal belongings being touched but that was one of those things she couldn't control. She'd given up that to be apart of the Stargate program. To keep secrets.

"How was your vacation?" The general asked.

"Fine, sir." Erica was brief as she knew he didn't really want to hear about her vacation. She cleared her throat. "About my transfer?"

"Denied." The general told her gently. "It came from the top. There's nothing I can do. I can only suggest that you try again when they've reestablished contact with Atlantis. Until such time as they are chosen for the mission, all personnel, but especially those who can red Ancient, are grounded until further notice." He sat down at his desk. "Dismissed."

"Thank you, sir." Erica replied before walking out of the office. She knew better then to push a military general. The conversation was over.

o0o

When the video chat notification sounded later that day, Erica pounced on the keyboard. It was the first call with Daniel since getting back from her vacation after the team had left for Atlantis. Things had stalled and her family had talked her her into taking some vacation time.

It had been the longest month in history, but the time off had done her good. But now she was itching to get back to it. Since the team had gone to Atlantis, there really hadn't been any need to work on ancient translations and she had gone back to her quite normal routine of translating Goa'uld and other languages from the technical devices brought back through the gate. Bring, but needed.

SG-1 no longer did the bulk of being back alien tech but Daniel did call her occasionally. Erica did more asking his opinion that translating with him nowadays.

"Did you hear what happened?" Daniel asked once the call was established.

"Yes!" Erica replied enthusiastically. "You should've called ahead! I would've cancelled my vacation time. As it was I sitting on a beach in Hawaii while one my colleagues sold out to the Trust!"

"I was thinking that we should've gone through you later." Daniel told her. "Though if Dobson wasn't the one showing Sam and I around we'd never found the ship or the Trust operatives."

"Yeah, well. Hindsight." She sighed. "Thanks to you we've all had our background checks upped and renewed again. The security measures are the same. But now the just monitor you 24/7 when you're not at work too."

"Oh goodie." Daniel responded sarcastically. "Obviously you passed the security check."

"It's ongoing." Erica told him. "But I expect too with flying colours." She hesitated. "Daniel, I know that they're ready to send the ship to Atlantis. I put in for a transfer. It was denied. I can only assumed that's because you're going."

Daniel shook his head. "No. At least I don't think so. No. Jack won't let me go. Believe me I'm fighting it but it's hard when all his reasons are completely valid." He looked annoyed. "I understand that Jack feels like it too much of a risk and he's right. With no way to make it there and back, I'd be trapped."

"And part of you is okay with that." Erica replied.

"Yup." Daniel said. "I don't know if that's a good thing or a bad thing right now."

"You'll get there." She told him.

"One day. I know." He sighed. "I just hope that they haven't gone for nothing. I mean we don't even know that they made it to Atlantis."

"They made it." Erica said firmly. "We have to believe that. And sooner or later we'll get them back."

"I hope so." Daniel replied. He looked at the folder open before him. "Anyways. Let's get back to work. Was there anything else you wanted to pick my brain about? Where'd we leave off?"

"Let's start again from 13." Erica told him. "I lost the last little bit last time due to video lag."

"Wonderful." Daniel muttered. He cleared his throat. "Ok. As I said before, 13 seems to indicate that..."

The End


End file.
